1 in 10 Michigan children have a parent who has been incarcerated, report says

One in 10 Michigan children have a parent who has been incarcerated, an often traumatic event that can lead to increased poverty, stress and family instability, according to a report released today.

The report, from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows that 10 percent of Michigan children have a parent who has been in jail or prison. The data only counts children whose incarcerated parent lived with them at some point. It does not include children with a parent who was incarcerated prior to their birth.

Children with an incarcerated parent are more likely to live in low-income families of color and have a mother with a limited education, the report says.

The report cites 2011-12 data from the National Survey of Children's Health. Just two states - Indiana and Kentucky - have a larger percentage of children whose parents have been incarcerated than Michigan. Five states have the same percentage as Michigan: Alaska, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

The findings underscore the need to support children whose parents are incarcerated and ensure that incarcerated residents have a pathway to employment after their release, said Alicia Guevara Warren, Kids Count Project Director at the Michigan League for Public Policy.

They findings also reinforce the need to examine how Michigan's "outdated corrections policies" impact families and children, she said.

"Michigan's outdated corrections policies have hurt our economy, they've hurt our state budget, and this report really shows that they are doing the same to our families and their kids," Guevara Warren said.

She added, "We need to think about the impact on kids and think about how as a state we can put children who have been impacted by incarceration at the forefront of any decisions around reform - sentencing and corrections reform."

Criminal justice reform has been a significant focus in the Michigan in recent years, but thus far none of the major legislative proposals to emerge have been signed into law.

In 2015, Gov. Rick Snyder outlined what he called a "smart approach to criminal justice." His plan called for improved efforts at preparing inmates for life after prison and saving money by placing terminally ill and elderly prisoners in more cost-effective settings, among other steps.

Another significant legislative effort has been presumptive parole, which would offer low-risk prisoners a legitimate shot at parole once they've served their minimum sentence. The proposal, however, has been met with opposition from county prosecutors and Attorney General Bill Schuette, who says it could endanger public safety.

"Our nation's overreliance on incarceration has left millions of children poorer, less stable and emotionally cut off from the most important relationship of their young lives," Patrick McCarthy, president and CEO of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, said in a statement. "We are calling on states and communities to act now, so that these kids--like all kids--have equal opportunity and a fair chance for the bright future they deserve."

That includes increased funding for prison education and re-entry initiatives, banning felony conviction check boxes on job applications and doing a better job helping households where a parent is incarcerated access financial, legal, child care and housing assistance, according to the Michigan League for Public Policy.

"Having a parent in prison causes economic, social and personal strife for kids and there are currently little to no efforts to address this," Mary King, executive director for the Michigan Council on Crime and Delinquency, said in a statement. "There are more than a quarter of a million kids struggling with an incarcerated parent in Michigan, and that number is too high for them to continue to be disregarded."